Douglas Devananda
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Kathiravelu Nithyananda Devananda (born 1957 in Jaffna, Sri Lanka), popularly known as Douglas Devananda, is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and Cabinet Minister.[1] Originally a Tamil militant, he gave up violence and is currently the leader of the Eelam People's Democratic Party. Due to his strong opposition to and vocal criticism of the rebel LTTE organization, they have unsuccessfully tried to assassinate him over 10 times and he remains high up on their list of targets for assassination.[2]
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[edit] Early Life
As a teenager, Devananda was influenced by the political work of his father, a member of the Sri Lanka Communist Party and his uncle K.C. Nithyananda, a leading trade unionist. In 1974, he went from Jaffna to Colombo for further studies but found himself more interested in the politics of the time. Feeling discriminated by certain government policies, he wanted to be engaged in the emerging Tamil liberation movement. Thus he joined the Eelam Liberation Organization (ELO) and later became a founder-member of the Eelam Revolutionary Organizers (EROs).
Following his victory in the 1977 election, President J.R. Jayawardene appointed Nithyananda as the chairman of the newly formed Palmyrah Development Board and Devananda functioned as his personal assistant.
[edit] Militant life
In 1978, the EROs dispatched Devananda for military training with Al Fatah, an organization within the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. Following his return to Sri Lanka after the completion of his training with them, he was twice arrested in 1980 under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). He was held in various prisons in the country until the July 1983 anti-Tamil riots, when he was transferred to Batticaloa prison from the Welikada prison. In September 1983, he escaped from the prison and fled to Tamil Nadu in India.
[edit] Formation of the EPDP
In May 1986, after serious internal contradictions cropped up within the the EPRLF, his party at the time, his faction was transformed into the EPDP in May 1987. After the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement of July 1987, and the arrival of the IPKF in Sri Lanka, the EPDP decided to give up the armed struggle and join the democratic process in Sri Lanka.
[edit] Embracing of democratic process
Due to his upbringing by his uncle K.C. Nithyananda, it was easy for him to decide to give up armed militancy and instead work peacefully for the rights of the Tamil-speaking people with the cooperation of Sinhalese politicians in the South. He then worked to build his party in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. His efforts paid off when nine members of the EPDP, including himself, were elected to Parliament in the August 1994 elections. Devananda was re-elected to Parliament in October 2000, in December 2001 and again in April 2004.
He was appointed as a minister in the government of Chandrika Kumaratunga following the 1994 elections, and although he lost his following the change of government in 2001, he was reappointed Minister for Social Service and Social Welfare by President Mahinda Rajapakse in 2004.
[edit] Opposition to the LTTE
As the leader of Tamil political party opposed to the LTTE, and due to his continuing criticism of the LTTE, he has regularly been targeted by the LTTE, and is thought to be high up on their list of targets for assassination. The LTTE, which is banned as a terrorist organization by a number of countries including the United States, Canada and the 27 member European Union, has undertaken over 10 attempts on his life, the latest one on July 7, 2004 by a female suicide bomber.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "‘LTTE usurped Lankan Tamils’ identity’", The Statesman.
- ^ a b "Devananda survives 10th assassination bid", Ranil Wijayapala, The Daily News, 8 July 2004.
